G-G issue no problem for the Queen

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, with Peter Hollingworth, are welcomed to Australia by Paitya Aborigines at Government House in Adelaide.

The suggestion that the crisis surrounding the Governor-General would create embarrassment for the Queen was a "beat-up", Prime Minister John Howard said yesterday.

"I don't think there's a person around who's handled challenging situations with greater aplomb and skill and dignity than she has," Mr Howard said in Adelaide as he awaited the Queen's arrival.

"I think this suggestion that unimaginable embarrassment is being created for the Queen in relation to this issue is, to say the least, a complete beat-up."

But Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said the furore surrounding the Governor-General was likely to become an international story under the spotlight of almost 1000 journalists in Australia for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

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Opposition Leader Simon Crean repeated his view that the Prime Minister should ask the Queen to sack Dr Hollingworth, but wished the Queen "a very happy visit" anyway.

The Queen's arrival coincided with more accusations about Dr Hollingworth, this time that he wrote two character references for a priest against whom sexual misconduct allegations had been made. Dr Hollingworth's private secretary, Martin Bonsey, said the Governor-General had written a general reference for Canon Ross McAuley when he planned to look for a position overseas with the Church of England.

It omitted allegations of sexual misconduct against Canon McAuley, which Dr Hollingworth said had not been proven.

But when he wrote a second reference for Canon McAuley 15 months later when he was applying to become a Catholic priest in Tasmania, Dr Hollingworth did include the sexual misconduct claims. Canon McAuley was subsequently turned down.

Mr Bonsey said Dr Hollingworth considered the two references were fair, responsible and appropriate for the two different sets of circumstances.

"The difference in the approaches adopted in these two references is because one was a general reference expected to be used within the Anglican Communion where follow-up is to be assumed and the other was a specific reference provided to a particular recipient of a different church," he said.

The Catholic Church in Tasmania is declining to comment on the level of information it received about Mr McAuley. Mr Bonsey said the allegations against Mr McAuley were never substantiated.